Curtain holder and protector



Dec. 1924- 1,518,824 M. J. SMITH 1 CURTAIN HOLDER AND PROTECTOR FiledMarch 24, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 -Dec. 9, 1924.

M. J. SMITH CURTAIN HOLDER AND PROTECTOR Filed March 24, 1922 2Sheets-Sheet 2 i l H MM i N Patented Dec. 9, 1924.

MARGARET 3'. SMITH, OF CHZGAGO, ILLINOIS.

CURTAIN HOLDER AND PROTECTOR.

Application filed March 24, 1922. Serial No. 546,240.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARGARET J. SMITH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in a Curtain Holder andProtector, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a curtain holder and protector and hasparticular reference to a device which is easily attached to a win dowcasing,'and which has for its primary object, the holding of thecurtains or draperies away from the window or window screens when thewindows are open if screens are in position and preventing the curtainsfrom blowing against or otherwise coming in contact with the window orscreens, or from blowing out of the window when the windows are open andno screens are used over the window openings.

,It is well known that curtains or draperies, suspended fromthe upperportion of the window casing and allowed to hang down over the windows,are easily and quickly soiled by coming in contact with the window pane,or when the windows are open, by coming in contact with the screens bybeing blown against the screens, the curtains or draperies are veryeasily soiled, and furthermore, are quickly worn by the abrading effectproduced by being blown against the window screens, or when the screensare not in place, by being blown out 'of the window against the windowcasing or the walls of the building, as the case may be, and being alsosubjected to the wind and the weather elements. The result is that thecurtains or draperies become easily soiled, and, therefore, must belaundered more frequently than if some means were provided to hold themin proper position before the windows to admit the proper amount oflight and air and at the same time, hold the curtains or draperies outof contact with the windows and screens, thereby protecting them againstwear.

These disadvantages are overcome by the use of my improved invention andin addition to this, it-has for its further object, the provision of acurtain holder which can be easily'placed in position and adjusted tohold the curtain in any desired position to admit the desired amountoflight and air so that the usual pinning, folding, or means otherwiseused to hold the curtains is dispensed with, and also the constanthandling: of the curtains is done away W1th as is common with curtainsused in bed rooms, or the device can be easily put into inoperativeposition and out of the way so that the curtains are allowed to hang infront of the windows in the usual manner and the curtain holderdispensed with, if desired.

Another and further object of my invention is the provision of a curtainholder which is removably secured to the side of a window casing for usewhen the windows are being Washed and which holds the cur tains ordraperies out of the way while the windows are being washed, andprevents the soiling of the curtains, and in this way protects thecurtains while the windows are being washed.

Another and further object of my: invention is the provision of thedevice of the character described which is reversible, so that it can beplaced on either the rightor left side of the window frame with the curtain retaining rod positioned properly to hold the curtains out ofcontact with the window or back beyond the edge of the window frame asmay be desired.

These and further objects of my invention will be more fully and betterunderstood by reference to the accompanying sheets of drawings wherein-Figure 1 is a horizontal sectional View through one side of the windowcasing having my improved invention secured thereto;

Figure 2 is a front elevational View of the bracket shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view partially in elevation and partially in sectionshowing the curtain rod and bracket;

Figure 4 is a sectional view of a modified or adjustable type ofbracket;

Figure 5 is a View in elevation of a window and casing showing themethod of applying the bracket to the windom casing;

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view on lines 66 of Figure l;

Figure 7 is a front elevational View of the holder shown in Figure 4.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the wall of a building 10 isshown having a window frame 11 secured thereto with a casing member 12secured to the frame with the usual window sash 13, held in position bymeans of sash strips 14 and 15 respectively A bracket 16 is providedhaving a base p0r tion 17 with holes 18, 18 therein, through which;screws 19 pass into the member 12,

so that the bracket 16 is securely held in position against the side ofthe window casing. The bracket 16 has a horizontally extending portion20, having a plurality of recesses 21, 21 in the upper side thereof, andradiating outward like the spokes of a wheel from a vertical opening 22in said body portion 20, through which a curtain rod 23 extends; Thecurtain rod 23 has its forward end 24 bent upwardly in the form of anincomplete circle so that a curtain retaining loop23 is formed thereonadapted to securely held a curtain without crushing or soiling it undulyand with its rear end 25 bent so as'to form a complete circle with theend 26- resting against the rod 23. The ho1 e'22 is flared outwardly atits bottom portion so that an annular shoulder 27'is formed againstwhich the rear end 25 of the rod rests when it is in extended position,the rod being ful'crumed against the annular shoulder 27 on the bottomof the bracket and resting in one of the recesses 21 on the top of thebracket, depending upon in what position-it is desired to hold thecurtain. The length of the rod 23 may be varied to suit diiferentconditions and also different widths of the windows, as may be desired.The rod '23, it will be noted, is held in position by gravity when inextended position and resting in one of the recesses 21 when holdingthe, curtain. When desired, the forward end 24 of the rod may beelevated and the rod allowed to slide through the hole 22 until theforwardend of the rod 23 hangs in a Vertical position from the bracket16 along thefrajme 12 and out of the way, while the curtains ordraperies are allowed to assume their usual positions in front of thewindow. W hefiitLis' desired to hold the curtains back from the window,the rod is pulled upward untilthe rear end 25 engages against theshoulder 27, and is then pulled over until the rod 23 rests in one ofthe recesses 21 in the" portion 20 of the bracket 16. The rod 23 may beplaced in any one of the recesses 21 so that the curtain is held indifferent adjusted positions with respect to the window.

Referring now to Figures 4, 5, 6. and 7, wherein is shown amodified formof my invention, a bracket 28 is shown, having a horizontal portion 29extending from the central body part 30, a second horizontal part 31,theend 32 of the portion 29 being turned at right angles thereto andadapted to engage th'side of the member 12 with a piece of bber. 61*;felt 33 interposed between the 60 ein ea 32 and the casing 12 to preventor seraitc'hing the casing. The portioii =31'h'as its end 34 turnedoutward with a-screw 35 extending therethrough with a 'lfeldhgifi"on'lth end of the screw 50 that the Bracket 28- bec-lamped' intoposition upon the side of the window casing at any posit-ion desired andeasily removed therefrom, this form being particularly adapted for usein washing windows and the like, where it is' desired to'remove thebracket and carry it from place to place so that it can be attached tothe window frame and the draperies held out of contact with the windowsas may be desired. The bracket 23 has verticallyextending portions 37and 38 adapted to re'st against the window casing 12 so the bracket 28is prevented from turning. The central portion 30 has a plurality ofrecesses 39 in its upper face with a plurality of oppositely disposedrecesses 40 in its lower face witha rod 41 having a curved forward end42 and a. curved rear end 43 extending through a hole 44 in the centralportion 38 of the bracket in the same manner as heretofore described.The bracket 28 is therefore reversible and can be applied to either theright or the left side of the window casing with the rod 41 positionedin the recesses 39 or the bracket may be put upon the windowcasing in anup-side-down position from that shown in Figure 7 in which case the'rod41 is removed from the bracket and threaded through the hole 44 in theopposite direction, and the rod 41 will then be positioned in therecesses 40, 40.

In the operation of the device, the bracket 17 is permanently securedto; the window casing 12 and the rod 23 threaded through the opening 22in the bracket 20 and extends outward therefrom so the end 25 of thecurtain retaining rod rests against the annula shoulder 27 and thecurtain retaining rod rests in either of the recesses desired toproperly hold the curtains ordrap'eries' which are placed behind the rodand are held in any adjustedposition desired, the. forward circular end23 of the rod preventing the curta'ins from sliding over the end of therod,

and also allowing the rod to hang from the bracket alongside the windowcasing and out of the way. In the modified form the device is adapted tobe adjustably securedto a window casing with the rod 41 capable of beingadjusted to any desired position in the same manner as with thepermanently secured bracket described above.

While I have described more or less precisely the details! ofconstruction, I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself thereto,as I contemplate changes inform and the proportion of parts and thesubstitution of equivalents as circumstances may suggest or renderexpedient without departing from the spirit or scope of invention. Iclaim: 1. A. curtain holdingdevice comprisi-iigi-n combination a brackethaving an enlarged central portion with a hole extending therethrough,means for securing the bracket to a window casing, a curtain retainingrod mounted in said bracket and extending through the said hole, thesaid rod having an enlargement at its rear end adapted to engage withthe under-side of said bracket when in a horizontal position and an enlargement at its forward end adapted to retain a curtain when in ahorizontal position and to retain said rod in a vertical position whenthe rod is in an inoperative position.

2. A curtain holding device comprising in combination a bracket havingan enlarged central portion with a hole extending therethrough, meansfor securing the bracket to a window casing, a curtain retaining rodmounted in said bracket and extending the other loop forming curtainretaining 2 means when said rod is in a horizontal position, andretaining means for said rod in a vertical poslition when the said rodis held in inoperative position.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 21st day 25 of March, 1922.

MARGARET J. SMITH.

